May 09, 2013 06:07 PM CDTMay 09, 2013 06:07 PM CDTCowlishaw: People are going to have to accept that the Dallas Cowboys offensive line is going to be pretty much the same

Cowlishaw: People are going to have to accept that the Dallas Cowboys offensive line is going to be pretty much the same

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Columnist Tim Cowlishaw answered questions in a chat on Thursday. Here are some highlights.

What makes the
Cowboys think this team has improved when they haven’t addressed the poor
offensive line play?

The Cowboys were a terrible offensive team in the first
quarter last season. I just think of even games they won like Cleveland where they
seemed to have no clue what they wanted to do on offense until they got
desperate. Yes, they need more help and I guess Winston is still a possibility
at tackle although I think people are going to have to accept that the
offensive line is going to be pretty much the same as a year ago. They had
enough good offensive numbers that it makes you think it could still work, at
least to a certain point. But I'm surprised at the lack of change there as well
as you.

In my opinion the RT
position is basically going to be between 3 guys. My question is, and from I
have read the Cowboys could afford it, why don't they go out and sign Brandon
Moore G from the Jets? To me the interior of the line was a much bigger
problem. If Frederick is as good as the Cowboys
hope and they add Moore
the interior is vastly improved.

The Cowboys are of the belief that if you fix center, you
have gone to some degree to fix the guard positions as well. If you have a
mediocre center, the guards can't function and compensate. Frederick
will be expected to be ready to go in the opener against New York. Others saw him as a third-rounder
(the second center wasn't taken until the 4th round) and the Cowboys saw him as
a late one. The games will tell us if they were correct.

I don’t understand
why the Cowboys don't just cut Free designate him a June 1 cut (like they did
with Spears) to spread the pain, and then sign Winston to a $3.5 million deal.
DE's have figured out Free and he was rated much much worse than Winston by
PFF. Anyone watching them last year saw how bad he was....

He got better when he shared the job. Now that's not a great
long term answer I realize. They just need to figure out if there's a chance he
can get to that level of improvement if the job is (mostly) his.

The Cowboys just
signed Gerald Sensabaugh so he could retire as a Cowboy. Should fans admire that?

I don't want to be unduly harsh here. That seems to have
been a thing reserved more for the Emmitt Smiths of the world, but if a player
like Sensabaugh sees value in doing that, certainly it doesn't cause any harm.
I would say it's just not a story.

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